Nets are hoping they don't have to deal Williams (obviously). They are probably watching the Magic and Howard, wondering what might happen. If Howard goes somewhere where he wants to stay, then that's the second the Nets trade Williams. Otherwise, they'll stick to their guns and wait this out and bank on Howard coming to Brooklyn. Williams staying in NJ/BRK is all on what ORL does with Howard.

No way, by the way, the Nets get Howard before July. Magic don't want a thing the Nets got.

Nets probably keep Williams on the team, unless Howard gets traded to somewhere where he would stay (LA,Dallas) my guess is they try to bring in some cheap pieces to field a competitive team, then try to woo Howard to come in the offseason. Whether or not that works- who knows.

I doubt we trade for Gasol now, Morey's moves tend to be align with future moves, I think he was going to try to pair Gasol with Nene here- something that can't happen now. My guess is we trade our knicks pick and/or our 09ers for veteran talent and try to make a playoff push.

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A devastating mix of Holden Caulfield and Donnie Darko.

If we have to trade all that for Dwight, we're not getting D-Will, and Dwight will leave in free agency.

You have to hold onto Lowry if you trade for Howard. And that's why we probably can't get him, though I don't think it's impossible.

Sorry, not true at all. DWill will walk from NJ to play with Dwight here if we trade for Dwight. And NJ knows it. SAS has it pegged in this regard. If NJ sees they aren't getting Dwight, they are going to fold and move DWill for max value before losing him for nothing.

The key to getting Dwight/DWill is getting Otis to trade DWight to us on March 15. If we accomplish that, we can give Dwight $30 million more than NJ can give him, we also save him state sales tax, and DWill can essentially jump to Houston as a free agent without losing a dime because of no sales tax here.

We get Dwight in here with CLee and then Dwight commits, it's all over for NJ and DWill.

The whole key right now is does Otis move him on March 15 or does he gamble until the end of the season and being able to still trade Dwight. Morey is either going to trade for Dwight now or if Dwight isn't traded, Morey is going to continue to stockpile assets to trade for Dwight later. If we don't get Dwight on March 15, it's really in our best interests to tank out the season and trade away guys for younger talent that would be more attractive to a reloading Orlando. That is, unless we can trade for a substantial upgrade like Pau, rejuvinate him, and make a solid playoff run.

Sorry, not true at all. DWill will walk from NJ to play with Dwight here if we trade for Dwight. And NJ knows it. SAS has it pegged in this regard. If NJ sees they aren't getting Dwight, they are going to fold and move DWill for max value before losing him for nothing.

The key to getting Dwight/DWill is getting Otis to trade DWight to us on March 15. If we accomplish that, we can give Dwight $30 million more than NJ can give him, we also save him state sales tax, and DWill can essentially jump to Houston as a free agent without losing a dime because of no sales tax here.

We get Dwight in here with CLee and then Dwight commits, it's all over for NJ and DWill.

The whole key right now is does Otis move him on March 15 or does he gamble until the end of the season and being able to still trade Dwight. Morey is either going to trade for Dwight now or if Dwight isn't traded, Morey is going to continue to stockpile assets to trade for Dwight later. If we don't get Dwight on March 15, it's really in our best interests to tank out the season and trade away guys for younger talent that would be more attractive to a reloading Orlando. That is, unless we can trade for a substantial upgrade like Pau, rejuvinate him, and make a solid playoff run.

The trade you suggested for D-Will is nowhere near the max value New Jersey will get for him on the open market, and Dwight will not sign an extension to play for a gutted team like that. He might as well stay with Orlando then.

The trade you suggested for D-Will is nowhere near the max value New Jersey will get for him on the open market, and Dwight will not sign an extension to play for a gutted team like that. He might as well stay with Orlando then.

It is the max value the Nets will be able to get when other teams realize DWill is walking to Dallas or Houston in the offseason. You have to take into account what these guys want. DWill wants to play with a premier big, running the perimeter, getting his shots and assists, throwing lobs for dunks, and winning. He's walking to Dallas if NJ cannot acquire Dwight. All the teams know it. They're not going to give NJ more than we are willing to give NJ just to watch him walk away from them in the summer. And if that happens, all the better for us. We get to keep all our assets and sign DWill to play with Dwight for nothing except cap space.

It is the max value the Nets will be able to get when other teams realize DWill is walking to Dallas or Houston in the offseason. You have to take into account what these guys want. DWill wants to play with a premier big, running the perimeter, getting his shots and assists, throwing lobs for dunks, and winning. He's walking to Dallas if NJ cannot acquire Dwight. All the teams know it. They're not going to give NJ more than we are willing to give NJ just to watch him walk away from them in the summer. And if that happens, all the better for us. We get to keep all our assets and sign DWill to play with Dwight for nothing except cap space.

Dwight. Won't. Stay here. What part of that are you not understanding? I'm not saying it's impossible for him to sign an extension here, but it sure as hell becomes impossible if you give up all of the assets you listed to trade for him. What incentive does he have to do so? You're banking on him making a D-Will trade easy for us, but he has no reason to do that when he can just become a free agent and go wherever he wants.

He won't sign an extension. Not before the deadline, not in the offseason either. He will walk and go to Dallas himself, or New Jersey, or some other team.

My guess is we trade our knicks pick and/or our 09ers for veteran talent and try to make a playoff push.

Seconded. Right now we've got a good chance of being a 4-5 seed in the playoffs. I doubt Morey gets rid of any core player that would screw up the chemistry. TWill, Bud, Hill (if he's healthy), Thabeet, picks are probably on the table; People who have been making little to no impact on the court are probably going to be sent away for a veteran playoff presence (maybe from the Celtics' blow up?). The Rockets management have been in this "just get to the playoffs" mindset for too long to pass up a rather weak season.

The Lakers won't move Gasol to Houston unless it solves their obvious problem at point guard.

They won't move a 4 time All-Star and 2 time NBA Champion Gasol for a Goran Dragic. Not when they have other options available to them at point guard that are comparable and can be had while keeping Gasol.

The Lakers don't want Scola, they don't want Kevin Martin.

Think about it: If the Lakers wanted Scola or Martin, they would have them. The deal would have been made in December. The Rockets wanted Gasol then, and the only thing that could bring him to Houston, was Chris Paul.

The thought that the Lakers are Desperate to get rid of Gasol is complete Myth. Yes, it is true changes to the CBA have been made, but they can still go above the cap and pay the luxury tax, the tax is just significantly larger now. As much as this may piss off a lot of fans, the Lakers are one of the few teams in the league that have the means to pay this harsh tax.

The Lakers are only desperate to get better at point guard and to get better production from the bench if they hope to contend for a title this year.

There are two ways this could be accomplished:

One involves trading Gasol. This type of deal would have to bring the Lakers a young point guard with star potential (Lowry, Rondo). (I concede this may not be possible, or Houston and Boston will think this is too much, but this is what it's going to take to pull him from the Lakers.)

The other would have the Lakers keeping Gasol, and using some combination of Lamar's TPE and the three first round picks the Lakers possess (theirs this year, dallas' this year, and theirs in 2014) to get a better point guard (anyone is an upgrade over Fisher / Blake) and to bring some talent to the bench.

I believe that the second outcome is most likely. I think Morey and Kupchak get to a place where the deal comes down to the Lakers saying, "Gasol is going to cost you Lowry, plus some other pieces" and Morey saying, "Okay then there's nothing left to talk about".

I think it is Morey's love for Gasol that is keeping these talks alive, and his unwillingness to part with Lowry that is holding any deal up.

Is there a chance we trade directly with Boston? I mean the 'Big 3' are 'on the market' and perhaps KG is a better fit than Gasol. Maybe they can package him with Ray Allen. Ray could come off the bench as 6th man and brings veteran leadership.

Houston gets: Kamen
NO: gets Thabust, 2 of the 4 Hill/Williams/Dragic/Flynn
Sure we would rather keep Dragic but if keeping someone that we are going to let walk at the end of the year is going to keep us from getting Kaman then I say goodbye. It also depends on if we get Darko or Luke in the other trade.

I agree for the most part but I am not sure if Aldrich is a bust or not. I heard a lot in his draft that he could be very good just needed to be worked on. Also I am very sure that OKC will not give up Ibaka.

Anyones guess right now. I think the most obvious one is Gasol might end up a Rocket if Morey is determined enough and Lakers are still willing. So potentially the trade is probably still gonna be some form of Lakers, Rockets, and third team involved. The guys we still give up will probably be Martin, Scola, Dragic for Gasol. Which is a bit heavy handed but Gasol can still play.